Assistant Swimming Coach of University of Tennessee - Joe Hendee dies of brain cancer
University of Tennessee’s assistant coach for men’s swimming team, Joe Hendee failed to continue a fight with brain cancer on April 24, 2011. Hendee died at his hometown in Knoxville on Sunday at the age of 50 years after a prolong battle with cancer.
50-year-old Hendee was admired by all his colleagues, friends and swimmers. “I’ve met a lot of people in my life and he’s the best man I’ve met. He would give you the shirt off his back. He was always there for the swimmers, the divers and their families,” Tennessee’s swimming head coach John Trembley said.
Trembley also said “He would do the little cumbersome tasks that were frequently above other people to do. If a parent of a team member needed some information, Joe would always respond immediately.”
Hendee has been assisting Tennessee’s aquatics program for 33 years. He joined the University in 1978, where he turned into a student manager and completed his graduation in 1983. After the completion of his degree, he was recruited by the University as an Assistant Coach to men’s swimming team.
With the help of his services, Tennessee occupied Southeastern Conference Championships (SEC) three times along with a national title. During his career, Tennessee produced 92 individual SEC gold medallists, 15 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champions and more than 100 swimmers entered the All-American selection.
He is the only one to provide his services to the University of Tennessee for such a long time. He also acted as a coach to the Knoxville Racquet Club for more than 20 years and consequently the pool was named after him. His coaching career was not limited to the Tennessee only, as U.S Junior National Swimming considered Hendee’s services mandatory three times. Hendee also went along with the swimming squad to 2000 World Short Course Championships in Athens and 2003 World Long Course Championships in Barcelona.
Hendee also assisted US international swimming squad as the coach and mentor. In 1984, he supported Coach Ray Bussard, who was on a spell to 1984 Olympic. After two years, he was appointed as a coach by USA Swimming for the Elite Training Camp in Chapel Hill. Hendee supervised U.S Olympic Festivals of 1989 and 1993, while he also organised the Tennessee’s Aquatic Centre before the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Due to his miraculous service record, Hendee was introduced in the Hall of Fame of Tennessee Swimming during 2003. His stupendous work will be missed by his colleagues and swimmers. In addition, one can only imagine what type of impact would this leave on Tennessee’s swimming at the next swimming Championships, as his absence might upset the performance of his beloved swimmers.
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